James Garner To Jarrod Bowen, Who Will Tuchel Regret Leaving Out Of World Cup Squad | OneFootball

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England’s World Cup squad will be talked about this summer, no matter just what transpires in North America. Has Thomas Tuchel got it right? Did he leave a possible ace in the pack at home? Why did he favour this player over that player? Tuchel can only banish such thoughts by winning the tournament, but in the event he does not, questions will be asked.

Naturally, many of the names from the 55-strong provisional list and the 35-man squad from the Uruguay and Japan games in March have been left out, with each country able to carry only 26 players to the World Cup.

Ahead of the tournament in North America, Inside Futbol look at whether Tuchel should have plumped for any of those missing out and give a rating over how lightly the England boss might be to regret his choice.

Cole Palmer

Cole Palmer, scorer of England’s equaliser in the Euro 2024 final and the PFA Young Player of the Year that same year, has been left out. Tuchel could hardly be faulted for this choice given the embarrassment of riches he has at the No 10. position, as Palmer made the decision relatively straightforward with his form this season. Palmer has only five non-penalty goals this campaign and is unlikely to be a miss at the big summer showpiece event.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 4/10

Phil Foden

Phil Foden, who started the Euro 2024 final and won the PFA Player of the Year award as the senior counterpart to Palmer, has endured an even longer spell of poor returns than Palmer. The senior of the two, Foden has not scored since the middle of December, while six of his seven goals this season came over a four-game period across a fortnight. Foden, with Palmer as a substitute, failed a trial in March when Tuchel deployed him as a false 9 with Harry Kane out. It is unlikely that Foden will be missed in the States.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 3/10

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Trent Alexander-Arnold has only been included in one of the six England squads called up by Tuchel, missing twice due to injury, but it has been apparent that he was never going to be the German’s first choice. Nonetheless, the former Liverpool man could have been worth his weight in gold off the bench, with very few in world football able to offer what he does, despite a patchy first season at Real Madrid.

While it is understandable that Tuchel prefers the system to individual prowess, Alexander-Arnold’s ability to create from right-back would have come in handy in more than one scenario, especially with Harry Kane available to get on the end of those whipped passes. Djed Spence suffered a broken jaw in the penultimate game of the season and Tino Livramento missed the whole of May with a thigh issue, which only makes Tuchel’s non-selection all the more confounding.

Alexander-Arnold could be missed whenever England look short of ideas across the pond, with few players capable of providing his level of creativity from deep.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 9/10

Harry Maguire

Harry Maguire has not been selected despite enjoying a resurgent season with Manchester United.

The decision is not as shocking as his Twitter comments might lead one to believe, with Maguire not offering any one particular trait that might be deemed absolutely necessary. Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi might be shorter than Maguire, but they offer far more than a physical presence, with both defenders comfortable handling one-on-one situations and holding their own against quick, elusive forwards. Jarell Quansah and John Stones round out a balanced set of centre-back options capable of meeting Tuchel’s demands.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 3/10

Levi Colwill

Levi Colwill returned from a long-term ACL injury only in May. For all his potential, an unfit Colwill helps no one’s cause, with the World Cup arriving too soon for the Chelsea man.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 2/10

Morgan Gibbs-White

Morgan Gibbs-White is the top scoring midfielder in the Premier League, and more importantly it appeared that he was peaking at the right time in the context of the World Cup. The Nottingham Forest captain has eight goals in his last nine league appearances, dragging his side out of a relegation battle. His understanding with Elliot Anderson should also not be underestimated, and one of Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo or Eberechi Eze could have made way for the playmaker.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 7/10

Adam Wharton

Adam Wharton, like Alexander-Arnold, could have offered something different in midfield. His passing range and vision may have proved vital in tight games. Fresh from a Conference League triumph and a Man of the Match display in the final, the left-footed midfielder would have added both balance and creativity to Tuchel’s options.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 5/10

Lewis Hall

Lewis Hall has had a standout season with Newcastle United and would consider himself unfortunate, with only one natural left-back, Nico O’Reilly, being named in the squad. Though Spence, Livramento, or Burn can all fill in at left-back if required, Hall would have been a better fit than those three. Tuchel’s decision, in that sense, is bewildering, that he would entertain square pegs in round holes at left-back while stressing the importance of the system for others.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 6/10

Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw and Myles Lewis-Skelly are two more left-backs who have missed out, with Shaw, like Maguire, having had a good season with Manchester United, while Lewis-Skelly has only just returned to action with Arsenal. Shaw and Lewis-Skelly would be less of a miss than Hall for England, though.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 3/10

Jarrod Bowen

Jarrod Bowen clocked eight goals and ten assists for a struggling West Ham United side, which dwarfs, for instance, Noni Madueke’s output. Bowen, like Gibbs-White, is on a purple patch, and it might have made more sense for the Hammers captain to be on the flight.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 6/10

Jack Grealish

Jack Grealish has been injured since January, and his exclusion could be explained on that count alone. It could also be argued that Grealish faded away after a bright start with Everton, and in any case did not do enough even during his stronger patch of form.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 1/10

Alex Scott

Alex Scott, along with Rio Ngumoha, Josh King, and Jason Steele, will train with England but will not take part in the tournament itself. Scott could have been a useful alternative to Elliot Anderson, offering not only line-breaking passes but also the ability to carry the ball forward. An argument could also be made that Scott warranted selection ahead of Kobbie Mainoo.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 5/10

Curtis Jones

Curtis Jones’ omission means no Liverpool player will feature in England’s World Cup squad for the first time since 1986. If Jones has any complaints, they are more likely to be directed at his now-sacked club manager, Arne Slot, with limited game time and several appearances coming at right-back doing little to aid his cause.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 3/10

James Garner

James Garner was praised by Tuchel for his versatility, amongst other things, but unfortunately for the Everton man, versatility alone was not enough to secure a spot on the plane. Garner, at his current stage of development, can otherwise have few complaints, with selection always appearing an outside bet.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 3/10

Dominic Calvert-Lewin/Dominic Solanke/Danny Welbeck

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dominic Solanke, despite their strong domestic form, did not do enough when handed opportunities by Tuchel in March. Solanke missed his side’s final few games through injury, with his last Premier League appearance coming in April. Danny Welbeck, who was reportedly included in the 55-man longlist for England’s provisional World Cup squad and has enjoyed the most prolific Premier League campaign of his career, was always likely to be an outside bet at his age.

None of the trio can claim to have held a clear advantage over Ivan Toney or Ollie Watkins and, in any case, if Kane’s understudy is required to feature heavily, it would probably mean England’s tournament has not gone according to plan.

Potential Tuchel Regret Rating: 3/10

In many ways, Tuchel’s job has been made easier compared to previous vintages, through form and availability. He has not had the headache of trying to fit Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Joe Cole, among others from the Golden Generation, into a midfield without losing balance; Tuchel’s number 10s have made his job relatively straightforward.

Tuchel does not have to pick between strikers like an English manager in the late 90s might have had to do between Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Les Ferdinand, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Stan Collymore, Dion Dublin, David Hirst, Chris Sutton, Emile Heskey, Kevin Phillips, James Beattie, Francis Jeffers and Kevin Davies, just to name a few.

In many ways, the shortage of forwards is a modern-day phenomenon, as illustrated by the contemporaneous Dutch cohort of Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Pierre van Hooijdonk, Roy Makaay and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, while the French, the Germans or any national side worth their salt could boast similar riches.

Tuchel is also not confronted by a pressing need to pick a surprise player, with only Ngumoha and Max Dowman presenting themselves as candidates. Michael Owen was a roaring success in 1998, while Sven-Goran Eriksson’s decision to pick Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon in 2006 ahead of Jermain Defoe or Darren Bent backfired spectacularly, as Wayne Rooney entered the tournament half-fit while Michael Owen suffered an ACL injury in the opening minutes of England’s final group game against Sweden.

Tuchel will not face any such retrospective criticism post-tournament, but his picks at full-back, and to a lesser extent in midfield, could come back to haunt him if England’s long-standing wait since 1966 continues to remain unfulfilled.